Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stake in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,110,185 shares of the company's stock after selling 91,276 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.03% of Nexstar Media Group worth $491,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NXST. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 550 shares of the company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Davis Capital Management grew its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 6,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 10,127 shares of the company's stock worth $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital raised Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.43.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Down 8.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NXST traded down $13.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $153.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 930,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 358,800. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.04 and a 12-month high of $191.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $164.06 and a 200-day moving average of $164.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.22 by ($1.66). The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $1.86 dividend. This is an increase from Nexstar Media Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.85%. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 32,096 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.67, for a total transaction of $5,477,824.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 806,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,563,262.73. This trade represents a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.51, for a total transaction of $339,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $843,312.25. This trade represents a 28.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,105 shares of company stock valued at $6,722,463. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Nexstar Media Group Company Profile

Nexstar Media Group, Inc operates as a diversified media company that produces and distributes engaging local and national news, sports and entertainment content across the television and digital platforms in the United States. It owns, operates, programs, or provides sales and other services to various markets; and offers television programming services.